The person is from the north-east of the country, Miroslav Petrovec, head of the Institute of Microbiology and Immunology at the Faculty of Medicine said on Sunday.

The person was tested on Friday, and the first tests have shown that the infection is already easing off, Petrovec said.

Epidemiologists contacted the person on Saturday and identified the persons with whom the infected had been in contact to advise them self-isolation, Milan Krek, the new head of the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ), told the STA.

Petrovec told the STA that this was the first newly discovered Covid-19 case as part of the nation-wide testing campaign.

No other details were revealed due to personal data protection rules, but this case is one of the eight new infections recorded on Saturday.

Four were recorded in central Slovenia (Ljubljana and Medvode) and three in Ljutomer, one of the hotspots of the coronavirus from the north-east.

Another person had meanwhile been previously tested as part of the random testing campaign who had known of their infection, having tested positive in March, explained Petrovec.

While 3,000 people have been invited to take part in the campaign, 1,315 have responded to the invitation and 1,136 tests have already been carried out.

As the government said on Twitter, 218 tests were performed on Saturday, and Petrovec said the campaign is also continuing today.

He believes it will take at least until Thursday to complete the testing. Then, next week the blood samples will also have to be analysed.

Krek on the other hand reiterated his view about the need to be cautious in easing movement restrictions, saying there were many unknowns about the virus.

It will also depend on the results of the random testing campaign how the government proceeds with the easing of the restrictions, said Krek, who was yesterday appointment NIJZ director, pending government approval.